Common Ear, Nose & Throat Problems in the Under- Five Sudanese Children

Introduction: The health problems of children and especially the under-5 years are of great concern and impact on both medical and surgical practice. No wonder they attract political and administrative concern Objective: This study aims to identify the common Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) problems of under-5 Sudanese children and to study the frequency, admissions, available beds and operations and to compare this work load with the rest of the ENT wards. Furthermore, to outline what is needed to improve the services for this age group. Methodology: This is a retrospective hospital–based study including all patients (n=21384) who presented to the ENT department, Wad-Medani Hospital, Gezira, Sudan, during a period of two years from the first of January 2010 to the thirty first of December 2011. Results: The total number of the under-5 children was 2330; which contributed to 41.32% of total paediatric age group, up to 16 years, (n=5639) and 10.90% of the total number of ENT patients who presented to the ENT department at Wad-Medani Hospital. The total number of admissions of under-5 children accounted for 32.72% of all paediatric patients and 20.66% of all ENT patients. Their commonest problems found in this study were; adenoiditis & tonsillitis (37.68%), otitis media (27.25%), Upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) & allergy (12.31%), foreign body related (12.23%), otitis externa (5.45%), others (3.43%), epistaxis (0.75%), hearing & speech disorders (0.90%). The total number of children under-5 requiring surgical operations constituted 55.46% of all paediatric patients and 33.98% of the total number of all ENT patients who were operated on. Of these operations 57.01% were elective and 42.99% were emergency operations. The main indications in 94.77% of the elective operations were adenoidectomy & tonsillectomy, while most of the surgical emergencies 91.32% were due to foreign body related problems. Conclusions: The ENT problems of the under-5 children in Wad-Medani General Hospital constitute an obvious high proportion of the work load. More attention is to be paid to this age group in terms of facilities, staff training and special requirements needed in settings and equipments. Thus, better handling and outcomes could be achieved for this important and delicate age group

Anatomical variations of nasal and paranasal sinuses among Sudanese patients undergoing CT scan evaluation at Antalya Diagnostic Center – Khartoum – Sudan, 2017

Introduction: The anatomical variations of the paranasal sinus are common among populations. These variations are asymptomatic most of the time, yet it may be associated with some inflammatory or allergic conditions. Knowledge of these anatomic variations helps in choosing the operative techniques, reducing the surgical complication rates and explains recurrence of disease. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and type of the anatomical variations of the paranasal sinus among adult Sudanese population by using CT scan. Patients and Method: This is a retrospective descriptive and health facility-based study, conducted at Antalya Diagnostic Center, Khartoum, during the period from July to September 2017. Included in the study all patients referred to the center for CT scan of the sinuses (n=151). A simple random technique was used for anatomical variations; with a sample size of 76 patients. Data collection sheet was used included demographic data and the anatomical variations. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results: The total number of patients diagnosed with variations was 76, which constituted of 50.3% of all patients included in the study. The age of patients ranged between 16 to 65 years, with a mean age of 36.46 (±11.12SD) years. The most frequent age groups were (16 to 25) and (26 to 35) years which constituted (52.63%) of the patients. Males were 34 (44.7%) and females were 42 (55.3%), with a male to female ratio 1:1.23. Relationship between age and gender with anatomical variants was found not statistically significant. Ninety variations were detected among the study sample. Nasal septal deviation was the commonest variation observed in (26.7%), followed by Concha bullosa in (20%), Onodi Cells in (11.1%), Agger nasi in  (10%), frontal sinus hypoplasia in  (10%) and other variations in ( 22.2%) of cases. Most of the variants were unilateral (81.6%) and were more on the left side in (46.1%) of cases. Conclusions and recommendations: the commonest variation was Nasal septal deviation, variations were common among the age group 16 to 35 years with slight female predominance. The study emphasizes the importance of CT scan for the detection of anatomical variations of the paranasal sinus in every patients planned for nasal or sinus surgery

Exposure to the News Networks Through Social Media Sites and Their Reflections on Spreading Rumors among Students – Field Study

The scientific study aimed to identify rumors in the students society in the age of social media sites and confrontation mechanisms. The research community included a sample of experts who use new media. Descriptive and statistical approaches (interviews and questionnaires) are used to analyze and understand rumors through social media sites and how to confront them. The study came up with results, the most important of them are as follows: 62% of the research community believes that students (young people) use of news networks via social media sites affects the spread of rumors, while 63% of the research community considers that the quality of social media sites used by young people helps spread rumors, and 43% of the research community agree that technology users are predominantly young people, which helps spread the rumor. Finally, the study recommended that news sites pay attention to the method of dealing with crises, investigate accuracy and credibility, and increase the effective communication between the leaders and students institutions

Demographical and population dynamics impact on public health of cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Al-Madinah Almonawra, Saudi Arabia

Background: A cross-sectional study conducted in Al-Madinah Almonawra in KSA held during the period from March 2014-March 2015.Aim of the study: This study aimed at analyzing the effect of population dynamics on the current situation of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Al-Madinah Almonawarah area, a holy city that attracts millions of muslims annually.Methodology: Epidemiological and clinical data were collected by especial questionnaire and laboratory specimens were collected using skin scraping and needle aspiration. Staining and direct microscopy were done. LST was conducted. Analysis was done using SPSS program.Results: The study included 164 patients, all of them were men. Saudi nationality comprised around 20% of the study group, the majority were Egyptians, 26.2%, followed by Pakistani, 21.3%.Conclusion: The presence of non-Saudi nationality as foreign workers, immigrants and refugees has worsened the current situation of the disease.Keywords: Cutaneous leishmaniasis, refugees, immigration, L. tropica, L. major. Sandfly

DETERMINATION OF TOTAL PHENOLIC CONTENT AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF DICHROSTACHYS CINERA, GUIERA SENEGALENSIS AND VITEX DONIANA

The present work was undertaken to determine the phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of three plants used in Sudanese folk medicine.The total phenolic content was measured by Folin Ciocalteau method using gallic acid as standard while the antioxidant capacity was based on the ability of these plant extracts to scavenge DPPH radical.High total phenolic content was detected in Dichrostachys cinera followed by Guiera senegalensis and Vitex doniana. Dichrostachys cinera exhibited the strongest antioxidant capacity with EC50 6.63 μg/ml, followed by Guiera senegalensis (7.74 μg/ml) and Vitex doniana (22.72 μg/ml). A significant linear correlation between total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity(R2=0.9957) confirmed that the phenolic phytoconstituents are responsible for the antioxidant activity.It can be concluded that the three surveyed plants could be potential sources of antioxidant agent

Low loss waveguide-based Butler matrix with iris coupling control method for millimeterwave applications

This paper proposes a low loss 4×4 Butler matrix based on rectangular waveguide cavity resonators technology for millimeterwave beamforming network using iris coupling method. This method has the advantage of controlling the electrical fields and the coupling factor inside a complex medium such as waveguide cavity resonators. The coupling factor of 6 dB for 4×4 Butler matrix is achieved by tuning the iris coupling k-value between the waveguide cavity resonators. Thus, avoiding a higher phase difference losses and component losses at upper millimeterwave bands. To validate the proposed method, CST software simulations are performed under several iris coupling k-values to achieve a 6 dB coupling factor. Then, the proposed 4×4 Butler matrix is 3D metal printed using selective laser melting (SLM) technique. The measured reflection and isolation coefficients are observed below −10 dB, with coupling coefficients ranging between −6 and −7 dB. The phase differences of −42.02°, 42.02°, −130.95°, and 133.3° are achieved at the outputs. It confirmed that using this proposed method has the superiority over the conventional microstrip and waveguide coupling methods by a 1 dB coupling factor loss and a 3° phase difference error

Chemosensetizing and cardioprotective effects of resveratrol in doxorubicin- treated animals

BACKGROUND: Doxorubicin (DOX), an anthracycline antibiotic is one of the most effective anticancer drug used in the treatment of variety of cancers .Its use is limited by its cardiotoxicity. The present study was designed to assess the role of a natural product resveratrol (RSVL) on sensitization of mammary carcinoma (Ehrlich ascites carcinoma) to the action of DOX and at the same time its protective effect against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity in rats. METHODS: Ehrlich ascites carcinoma bearing mice were used in this study. Percent survival of tumor bearing mice was used for determination of the Cytotoxic activity of DOX in presence and absence of RSVL. Uptake and cell cycle effect of DOX in tumor cells in the presence of RSVL was also determined. Histopatholgical examination of heart tissues after DOX and/or RSVL therapy was also investigated. RESULTS: DOX at a dose level of 15 mg/kg increased the mean survival time of tumor bearing mice to 21 days compared with 15 days for non tumor-bearing control mice. Administration of RSVL at a dose level of 10 mg/kg simultaneously with DOX increased the mean survival time to 30 days with 70% survival of the tumor-bearing animals. RSVL increased the intracellular level of DOX and there was a strong correlation between the high cellular level of DOX and its cytotoxic activity. Moreover, RSVL treatment showed 4.8 fold inhibition in proliferation index of cells treated with DOX. Histopathological analysis of rat heart tissue after a single dose of DOX (20 mg/kg) showed myocytolysis with congestion of blood vessels, cytoplasmic vacuolization and fragmentation. Concomitant treatment with RSVL, fragmentation of the muscle fiber revealed normal muscle fiber. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that RSVL could increase the cytotoxic activity of DOX and at the same time protect against its cardiotoxicity

A comparative study to determine the shock absorption ability of two popular mouth guards available on the South African market

It is expected that most mouth guards will provide some level of protection to teeth. In this study a device was developed to measure the relative impact absorption of two different mouth guards (Proform, Type III vacuum-formed and Max, Type IV pressure laminate). Seven of each of the two types of mouth guards were made and each batch was exposed to between six and 10 impact trials.DHE

Demographical and population dynamics impact on public health of cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Al-Madinah Almonawra, Saudi Arabia

Background: A cross-sectional study conducted in Al-Madinah Almonawra in KSA held during the period from March 2014-March 2015. Aim of the study: This study aimed at analyzing the effect of population dynamics on the current situation of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Al-Madinah Almonawarah area, a holy city that attracts millions of muslims annually. Methodology: Epidemiological and clinical data were collected by especial questionnaire and laboratory specimens were collected using skin scraping and needle aspiration. Staining and direct microscopy were done. LST was conducted. Analysis was done using SPSS program. Results: The study included 164 patients, all of them were men. Saudi nationality comprised around 20% of the study group, the majority were Egyptians, 26.2%, followed by Pakistani, 21.3%. Conclusion: The presence of non-Saudi nationality as foreign workers, immigrants and refugees has worsened the current situation of the disease